Dent d'Oche

Dent d' Oche photographed from the north

The Dent d' Oche is a 2,221 meter high mountain in the Chablais massif, which in turn is located in the Savoy Alps, part of the Western Alps. It is the highest elevation in the municipality of Bernex, in Haute -Savoie. The summit offers a view of almost the entire Lake Geneva and the French- Swiss Western Alps.

History

Origin of the name

Literally translated, " Dent d' Oche " tooth of good pasture. In fact, cows graze in summer the grass areas up to about 1,900 meters in height.

First ascent

Ascents to the summit via the simple east-west route there may have been before alpine historical records, the first mention is found in the memoirs of Sir Samuel Romilly, who climbed the mountain in 1781. The first ascent of the north face was made in June 1925 by the businessman François Jacquier of Evian with its leaders Joseph Ravanel, Arthur Ravanel and Camille Ravanel.

Location

The Dent d' Oche is located just south of Lake Geneva, southeast of Evian- les- Bains. From almost the entire southern coast of Lake Geneva, you can admire the distinctive summit rocks of the Dent d' Oche see why the mountain is quite regionally known. In direct vicinity of the Château d' Oche, a little further away the Cornette de Bise. To the south of the summit is the small lake Lac de la Casa on about 1780 meters. Not far from the Dent d' Oche, there is a chairlift system.

Height

In guidebooks and tourism publications is often expressed as the height 2.222 meters. Officially, however, the height of the summit is 2,221 meters. It is the northernmost Zweitausender France.

Routes to the summit

The ascent of the Dent d' Oche is one of the hardest in the Chablais massif. In the last 350 m are some uninsured climbs to overcome. The main ascent route runs from the restaurant " La Fétiuère " to about 1,200 meters above the West back to the summit. At 2,066 meters there is the managed by the French Alpine Club mountain hut Refuge de la Dent d' Oche. The climb takes about three hours, the descent about two hours, the route is about eight kilometers long. There is an alternative route of ascent from the south-east side, the slightly less frequented, the difficulty is, however, comparable. Both routes meet at a cowshed, which is at about 1,620 meters. The alpine hike is classified on the SAC - scale hiking with T5 ( challenging alpine hiking). The eastern rock is equipped with anchors for climbing ropes on several routes.

Flora and Fauna

On the Dent d' Oche live numerous chamois. The tree line is at about 1,600 meters, above which dominate alpine meadows.